Comparing Boys and Summer Update

We love watching Monty try to talk or make noises or just blow bubbles...

he has quite the mobility with his tongue

Dawson had quite a tongue too... Maybe it's genetic?

 As much as I try to get things done around the house, Monty loves to be held. He will sit by himself for awhile, but after a few minutes he will topple over and bonk his little head. SO, I opted for the box approach which was extremely successful until ..

.. he started to try and eat the box as you can see on the bottom left corner. And then he started to push so hard with his legs he ripped the box and fell back on his head anyways. I pushed it by the couch so he couldn't push back and fall over again... he just got smarter and stronger. He would push and straighten his legs, using the couch for leverage, he actually stood up (on a diagonal).

 I remember putting Dawson in a box to play too.... yes, this is Dawson below. He had longer hair than Monty does at the same age. However, Monty was born with a lot less. 

We had a play date with some friends and went to the splash pad! 

 My handsome Dawson is ripped! He says he's got pecks that are like his dads. 

 The next Sunday we left for a road trip to Worland, WY. Monty did so well in the car and was the happiest baby all the way there. On the way back, a completely different story. 

 We stayed in Billings on the way down and had to go swim. The boys looked so cute in their matching swim suits.

After leaving Billings, we quickly crossed into Wyoming. We were so excited to see something familiar... a Maverick! We haven't seen one since we left Utah. So seeing one meant we were closer to home. :-)

We saw this awesome wall painting on the side of an old building. 

We saw this sign that said 'hyart'... we thought, "Yep that is art that is high up. High Art."

 On the way back, we took the scenic by way over Big Horn National park. It was GORGEOUS! 

 The scenic by way started to get really interesting and we fell more in love with this drive.

 AND THEN! we saw MOOSE! 3 wild moose just chillin' on the side of the road. It was so cool! We had to stop, and then every one else passing by stopped too. 

 Here was 2, and then about a 100 yards down there was a cow. 

 It looks like Ireland because of how green it was up there. 

 Coming down off the high mountain we got to see this. It felt like we were on top of the world.

Thank you Wyoming for the beautiful drive. On the whole trip we saw badgers, raccoons, beavers, cranes, moose, and deer. It was pretty eventful! 

Kick off to Summer

Every Wednesday we head to the library and go to 'baby bookworms'. It's a singing/reading time that is free for the kids. Fortunately, the person who does this at the library on Wednesdays is our Stake President's wife. She absolutely loves Dawson and misses him if he doesn't show up. Monty loves it too! He could be totally asleep, but once he hears the singing he is up and at it. 

This last Wednesday they did a science show for all the kids to kick off their summer reading program. Dawson's goal is to read a book with us every night! So far so good. My goal is to read to him every night, and read at least 5 novels. So far I've read 2 which were absolutely awesome! Julianne Donaldson writes books that are similar to Pride and Prejudice. So to add to my reading I have watched Pride and Prejudice a million times already because I love it. 

The science show was outside, so we had to get Monty his sunglasses. He loves them!

MK loves Monty soooo much! 

 I asked my mom to send a baseball cap for Monty because I couldn't find any in the stores close by.... she sent a big surprise for everyone! Dawson is wearing MK's hat and thought he looked so cute! He definitely looks cute! He wants to wear this outfit (minus the hat) every single day. He loves America stuff and more importantly he loves swim shirts. 

 I went to our storage unit to drop off more clutter in our house and as I turned to close it, I sliced open my foot on the sharp concrete edge. It doesn't look terrible, but it was so deep it's still tender and healing. No bueno! 

 Monty loves to be like the rest of us. He screams as he watches us eat dinner or lunch. SO, I decided if he was that interested in eating solids (not baby food cuz he likes that and eats it every day (twice a day) but it's not his favorite), I decided to give him a graham cracker. HE LOVED IT!! He loved it so much he would eat and make noises of 'mmmmm'. 

 I laid Monty about 2-3 feet below the head of the bed. However, those blinds look so fun to play with. It was raining this morning which made it seem like the blinds were making noises and saying 'come play with me.' So Monty arched his back, bent his knees, pushed off with his feet and eventually made it to those glorious blinds. I was in so much shock, but proud that he figured out a solution to his problem and acted upon it. :-) Such a smart boy! 

We've come to find that Monty is extremely persistent! He never lets up, especially for things he wants. If he wants to be held, he will just squeal and scream FOREVER until I pick him up. I like to just wait and let him calm himself down, but it's not like he's upset. He's just being extremely loud and doesn't stop. This is no joke or an over exaggeration. After about 3-5 minutes I can't take it and everyone is getting after me to "please get Monty so he will be quiet." 

If Monty wants a graham cracker he will do the same thing. If I go to clean him up, he actually cries because he just loves to knaw on that cracker and suck it down. 

One thing that we've found calms Monty down (to where he's quiet) is bath time. He loves to splash and kick and splash and kick. He loves to play with Dawson in the bath too. Don't get me wrong, he's still hyper active, but he's more quiet. 

The other thing that Monty could go HOURS doing is being outside. He could be starving hungry, and my milk could be going hard because he hasn't eaten in 4-5 hours, BUT he could care less if he is outside. It doesn't matter the weather, he will look out the window and just squeal to go outside. You don't have to give him attention, he will just watch nature as it is and be so content and happy. I love this about him. We go on so many walks and it makes us all happy. 

Swimming has Begun

It has been deathly hot here in Montana and the pool or splash pad has yet to open.... so we took matters into our own hands.

We bought a $12 pool. Now I am super proud of this pool and the thought process that went into it. I wanted a pool with low maintenance and didn't want to pay a fortune. I was going to get one that you have to blow up, but in years past it has been a pain to put away because you have to let the air out. Plus the handwork of putting air into it, you can't just let that go to waste. I also wanted one that I could let the water out easily because once again, that's part of the clean up and putting it away. I wanted one that I could easily spray out if it were dirty. Last, I wanted one that wasn't so big it just made all the above even more difficult. 

So, that left us with 1 option, a $12 option, and the best pool I have ever had! It's perfect! Sorry you can't really see it... but it is awesome! It has the flimsy sides that let down 'oh so easily' to let the water out. If the kids fall onto it, they don't drown as easily because the sides fall down. It's easy to spray out. No air involved. It folds up to store away. Did I mention I mention it dries out fast? 

Here's little MK loving the pool even though it's freezing cold water. 

The boys had a blast with the squirt guns

It was a cold war with water, but perfect in the heat. (Notice how giant Carson is compared to Dawson? Carson is only 11 months older, Dawson is in the 90th percentile for height alone, and then there's Carson off the charts!)

We can't wait for more summer days like this, or the pool to open, or for the splash pad. I'm hoping for a good tan. :-)

Monty

Our little Monty man is growing so fast! One morning he was talking away. I recorded it, but it would post so here's pic. He is happy all the time! 

One day, right before bath time.... I took off Monty's diaper, turned to throw it in the trash, and reach down to take off his outfit. In no time at all, he pee'd all over himself! lol! You can see it by his eye and a puddle behind his head. Dawson was rolling on the floor laughing. Good job Monty! Good thing it was bath time. 

We recently took Monty to his 6 month check up. He is in the 75th percentile for height, and 75th percentile for weight. :-) Big kid and he is super strong! The doctor call him a 'pill' because she had him turned sideways on the bed. However, Monty would wrap his legs around her arm, pull his bum up and turn so he could kick off her chest or stomach and scoot away! OR he would curl his toes around her shirt, and turn himself by pulling on her shirt, and then kick off her stomach. He was so active and hyper she had a hard time listening. Then he'd get loud and screech! Then smile super big! It was hilarious! Dawson was again rolling on the floor laughing at how funny his baby brother was. 

We left and Dawson told everyone the story. It's so fun to hear Dawson tell the stories about his baby brother. He is so proud to have Monty and proud at how much fun he is. 

We are at the baseball game! Monty LOVES to be outside. He will go extra hours not eating if we go on a walk or go to the baseball games. It was a little bright so we added some shades. 

Monty is definitely teething. The teething has come and gone, but it seems to get worse each time. Below is his drool from 2 minutes on the bed. He rolled over and got drool everywhere in seconds! Poor kid has had a clear runny nose, drool all down his front, and runny low grade fevers.... all for the teeth to just go back down. The doctor said his gums were pretty swollen and she could see the teeth on his bottom gums. I hope they come soon because teething is miserable. 

Our sweet Monty B loves to sleep on his side or tummy... after being swaddled! He has a lot of red tint to his hair, but so did Dawson. The difference is that Monty's has always been light. Dawson had black hair as a baby. Andee's was light like Monty's. 

Thank you Aunt Jori for the bunny ears. Here's me and my little man. He really wants to crawl so bad. He will push himself all the way up and try so hard. I think he will be crawling soon. I took a video and will try to post it. 

Monty is a big smiler and so happy! He loves to talk to me in the middle of the nights, before bed time, and in the morning right when he wakes up. He is learning how to screech and squawk so loud when he doesn't like something. He will go to almost anyone even though he knows they aren't mom. He is a cuddled, but come bed time...just leave him a lone. He is so good to just lay on his own and go to sleep. 

In church I just lay him on the ground and he is happy the entire time. 

He loves to eat... and eat... we have started baby meats in his diet and he isn't a huge fan. He loves the pears though. He wants to just eat and drink what we eat needless to say. He will grab for my fork or drinks with an open mouth in hopes that he will get something...not a chance..for now anyways.

He loves to drink water from a water bottle no matter how wet he gets. He can't get enough! It's like he is starving for water.... It's hilarious to watch him try to drink it on his own.

Monty is a pretty good baby if I could just get him sleeping through the night. The other night he woke up and the iPad, well Dawson had laid it right by Monty while it was still playing netflix. Monty had rolled over and was slapping the iPad screen. I heard a squeal and went in to find Monty playing the iPad and having a great time. It was midnight and he was up. So for the next 2 hours we had a great time talking to each other. Finally he decided it was time to go back to bed. 

We are so lucky to have Monty in our lives. However, he's growing up a little too fast. He is sitting up  now too. He likes to sit up rather than lay down. He just wants to be big already. When you look at Monty, everyone always says how they feel like he's older. He just stares right at you and you feel like he's saying something. It's such an amazing thing! Other than that, he is just happy and content most of the time... unless Dawson gets him riled up. :-)

Say What?

#1

This morning we walked over to the park near our house where a football camp for young boys was going on. Carson had signed up and he was just finishing up for Day 1.

Carson: "I can't come to your house tomorrow. I have football camp."
Dawson looks around confused: "Well I don't see you tents."
Carson pauses: "...... We don't stay the night."
Dawson: "Well you said 'camp'..."
Carson: "........it's not that kind of camp. It's a different kind of camp."

As I listened to this conversation between Carson and Dawson I had to laugh a little. Why call it 'camp' when you don't camp? I've never even thought about it, but Dawson sure did.

#2

I was relaxing in the recliner and things were so quiet. Dawson kept giggling here and there as he lay on the couch. I wasn't quite sure what was going on until....

Dawson brings his hand, cupped closed, to my nose and releases.... "Mom smell this....it's my fart."
NOT EVEN KIDDING! I got butter cupped by my 5 year old.

We have NEVER even talked about buttercups or done them in our house. We are constantly telling Dawson to not talk about farts or pooping... however it's just in boys' blood and minds'. Dawson just wanted me to smell his fart because they were so stinky. SO GROSS!

#3

Lately Dawson has been a little prankster. He keeps telling me there is spider in the house... or he will say "Mom! There's a bug on you!" and then he smacks my arm...

He knocks on the door and yells, "Mom, someone's at the door." He will answer it, pretend to talk to someone, and then yell "Mom it's for you!"Then slams the door. I believe him and get upset at him for slamming the door in the supposedly guest's face..........I open the door......Dawson just bursts out laughing, "Just kidding mom!" Good one Dawson.

#4

Here in Montana mountain lions are popular, especially coming close to people. Dawson has been so creative in telling us so many stories about how he saw a mountain lion and it was coming after him, and then he threw a rock, and it ran away. OR "I saw that mountain lion up in the tree and I got my gun and shot at him so he just stayed away and didn't come near me."

#5

"Mom, can we make 'marshmallows'?

#6

Dawson puts his chest right in front of J.D.'s face saying, "If you look real close you can see a chest hair dad."......"See?"
J.D. "Yep..." trying to just get Dawson chest out of his face.
Dawson now turns and shoves his chest in my face, "See mom? You have to look REAL close and you can see a chest hair."
Me: "Ya.... why do you want chest hair though?"
Dawson: "Because so I can be just like my dad!"
It made both of us just laugh and smile so big. Dawson literally does everything to be like his dad...
-he wears a white T under his church shirt so he can be like his dad.
-he took off his shirt this very day so he can be like his dad (J.D. was walking around with no shirt)
-J.D. sleeps in his G's, so Dawson will go put on a white shirt with white underwear to be the same
-If his dad wears boots to church, so will Dawson
-Dawson always asks which tie tac JD has on so he can try and match it
-Dawson has to have a wallet because his dad has a wallet
-They both love Phineas and Ferb. They cuddle and watch it all the time

and now..... they are getting Monty in on all their fun. Dawson is always trying to get Monty to be as much like him and J.D., as much as he possibly can.

#7

Every day Dawson chooses a word that he can use in the phrase "Oh My _______!" We did this because he was slipping when trying to say oh my gosh. Anywho, it's worked out to be super fun and he loves to pick a word every day. Some of the words he has chosen are: pickles, trampoline, chicken nuggets, pizza, cheese pizza, apple juice, baseball, chips, fire chips, cookies... etc.


So, there's some fun things Dawson has been saying lately. I often wish I had a tape recorder to record everything because I know I've forgotten a lot. Dawson is so funny! He is growing up so fast. He can't wait to go to kindergarten. He got all of his shots,which he will say it hurt, but he is all done with shots for a while. (I didn't tell him about flu shots every year...). He is such a fun big brother and loves watching Monty grow. He loves to make Monty laugh and get him all wild before bedtime. He is doing amazing at T Ball. He is a very accurate thrower and loves to be a part of a team. We started chores with him and to start out his life of chores... his chores consist of:

Get the mail

Take out all the trash

Get ready for the day

Brush Teeth

Do School work

Pick up all toys and put them away

Pretty simple for now, but every day he gets a quarter and is saving for a Disney Cruise Ship. Since we went to Disney land last August, Dawson has save over $100! I'm totally impressed! 

Good job Dawson! We love you!

Memorial Day

We weren't able to spend Memorial Day in Holden, but we got lots of pictures. 

J.D.'s mom put flowers on everyone's grave and took the kids up there to get pictures. It looks so beautiful! My favorite part about these pictures are seeing the kids there. It was a pretty tough day for us not being able to be up there, but hopefully we can get to see her headstone soon enough. I can't believe she's been gone for a year and a half.... It feels like yesterday. 

On Memorial Day I spent time re-reading my journal entries that I wrote about Andee and her birth. It was hard, but I'm so grateful I could refresh my memory of the special memories and moments that I had kind of forgotten. 

Thank you Grandma Clara for putting such beautiful flowers and taking the kids up to the cemetery all the time. We love it.

His First Snake

The other day our property managers were out mowing the lawn... more like field. They found a garden snake and thought Dawson would just love it. So they brought to my front door, and inside my house. I was freaking out. Dawson was at first, but then he went and got his working gloves and asked to hold it.

He was a little nervous, but he was so proud of himself. I was pretty impressed and proud too! You won't catch me holding a snake or coming close to one either.